Good topic. Shall I sleep on my 23 man roster after a few buds and buds or should we mix it into this thread ?

Why not - I would be interested if Orland Kurtenbach, Curt Fraser, or Todd Bertuzzi made the cut.

Reinhart - Lumme is a good D pair... I debated Lumme, but went with Jovanovski over him. I still feel like Ohlund was the best we had, although I tend to forget about Reinhart, he wasn't in Vancouver that long - but he was right up there with the league's best PP quarterbacks... not to mention Jeff Brown.

My #1 line is explosive, fast, and high scoring. Thomas Gradin is my No. 1 center - gritty, talented and defensively responsible. His two wingers are both capable of breaking a game wide open: Lester Pearson winner Markus Naslund, and two time 60 goal scorer Pavel Bure.

Naslund - Gradin - Bure

My 2nd line combines artistry, resillience, and one of the best power forwards to play the game (ya, I'm aware that Neely didn't have his peak years in Vancouver... I picked him anyway). Henrik Sedin is at center with his brother Daniel on the left, and Cam Neely on the right. Just imagine how many goals Neely would have bagged on this line, and if anyone touched a hair on the twins head --- look out!

Daniel - Henrik - Neely

My 3rd line can score as well, with Patrik Sundstrom at center, 40 goal scorer Tony Tanti on the left, and all-around player, and 30 goal scorer Trevor Linden on the right. Added bonus: If Sundstrom is tossed from the face-off circle, Linden steps in.

Tanti - Sundstrom - Linden

My 4th line would scare the crap out of the opposition - but, although intimidating, these guys can play and score. Curt Fraser on left wing, Orland Kurtenbach at center, and Ryan Kesler on right wing. Look out!!!

Fraser - Kurtenbach - Kesler

As my spare forward, I would carry Stan Smyl to be inserted into the lineup in case of injury, or if we need a spark - they guy can play scoring line, checking line, and can fight middleweights. It was tough to leave Igor Larionov and Ivan Hlinka off of the team, but I favoured the Swedes at center. Bertuzzi also came up just short, but he couldn't beat out Bure, Neely, Linden, Kesler...

My #1 defense pairing is Mattias Ohlund and Ed Jovanovski. On the nights when Jovanovski had his legs, Ohlund would hang back and let Jovanovski spark the offence, but if Ed was having an off game, Ohlund could cover for him, and pick up the offensive slack. If any rough stuff broke out, JovoCop would be there to flail away. Right Adam Deadmarsh?

Ohlund - Jovanovski

My #2 pairing is all Finnish: Jyrki Lumme and Sami Salo. Both players can play at both ends of the ice, but I would be counting on them for creating offence from the back line. These two would also be running my first powerplay unit.

Lumme - Salo

My 3rd pairing is Dan Hamhuis and Paul Reinhart – a mixture of a shut down/smart passer/penalty kill defenceman and a powerplay quarterback.

Hamhuis - Reinhart

My 7th defenceman is a tough choice, but I have to have Harold Snepsts on my team. Heart and soul player, giving his all when he gets in the lineup - although it's likely I keep him out of the lineup if we're playing against Mike Bossy.

I know, I know, how could I leave out Willie Mitchell, Doug Lidster, or even Garth Butcher... I guess they get honourable mention.

At goalie, I pick the best goalie that has ever played for the Canucks: Roberto Luongo. His backup would be Kirk McLean, with Richard Brodeur waiting in the wings for playing time.

Wasn't sure if Neely should be included here but a line with him and the Twins tough to pass up.

Larionov gets the nod on the second line because of chemistry with Bure. Almo on the checking line might seem odd to those who dont remember how good he was in his own zone. 4th line wings wouldn't play very much so might as well go for some belligerence.

Ohlund + Lumme take the tough minutes and PK, while Brown and Reinhart get the soft ice and power play. Jovo and Snepsts take the rest and provide some jam to the back end.

I went with Curt Fraser over Odjick... It's just that Fraser-Plett was such a defining moment; like, holy shit, we could win this thing...

Although Odjick had surprising hockey ability, and many epic tilts, I don't remember him having such a pivotal moment. He gave Bure more room, but Bure also gave himself room with tough chippy play of his own.

On Neely, I get that his best years weren't as a Canuck, but come on - who wouldn't want to have one of the best power forwards of all time on right wing with the Sedins? Neely was a pretty smart player as well, so I think the line would have had chemistry.

I like Blob's line selection too - that would be an awesome team - many of the same players I chose, but in different combinations.

S_C

Last edited by Southern_Canuck on Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I don't recall them using the word Power Forward in Frasers era but if they had him and Terry O'Reilly would have been top of the list. Fraser was intimadating and his over hand right put away a lot of dudes. He also scored on a consistent pace until his diabetes caught up with ( and before the Canuck management understood his problem... what a gaff that was ) That line Smyl-Gradin-Fraser was a terrific line, they could play the game any way you wanted and Gradin was way under rated. Every defensive opposing player had his neck on a swivel Just what we need now . Hlinka was magic to. He was the first player to set up on the half board on the P/P he could snap a shot right from the half board past the goalie, what a wrist shot the guy had. And lets not forget Bubla. As smart a defenseman I've ever watched and strong .. unbelievable